


Confessions and Answers

by ayebibs



Series: How Far We've Come [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Confessions, Crushes, First Kisses, Fluff, M/M, Yamaguchi is a Good and Supportive Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:51:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7373407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayebibs/pseuds/ayebibs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seemingly out of nowhere, Hinata confesses to Tsukishima... belatedly, Tsukishima responds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confessions and Answers

Tsukishima was always an over thinker. It was mostly a curse that he had become accustomed to. Spending a lot of time in his head was nothing out of the ordinary for the tall blonde, but he had not been prepared for the mental gymnastics that Hinata dragged him into.

It happened last week during the lunch break. He had been walking down the hall when Hinata, bounded up to him, full of energy as always. 

“Tsukki!” He called, making him cringe instantly. “Wait up!”

He remembered thinking that he had his headphones on and, if he really wanted to, he could have an excuse for continuing along. Still, he knew that the chances of truly deterring Hinata was slim. So, he slowed to a stop and waited for the shorter teen to catch up. Hinata beamed at this, like he just accomplished some feat.

“Haven’t I asked you not to call me Tsukki?” He asked, slipping his hands into his pockets as they walked down the hallway. 

“Yamaguchi calls you Tsukki,” Hinata mentioned.

“Are you Yamaguchi?”

Hinata didn’t really say anything back, but he could have sworn that he heard him mutter “Stingystima” under his breath. They continued down the hallway quietly until Hinata spoke up again.

“How long have you and Yamaguchi been friends?” Tsukishima looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Hinata was being suspiciously quiet or, rather, he was quiet in comparison to the shouting baseline that he established for himself. 

“Awhile,” he answered with a shrug as they rounded the corner and approached the staircase. He felt Hinata glaring at him and smirked. It was fun messing with people who get riled up so easily. 

Hinata paused at the top of the staircase suddenly.

“Tsukishima!” He yelled making Tsukishima flinch and turn around after he stepped down a stair.

“What? Why are yelling, moron?” He snapped, glaring at the boy whose face was now eye level due to their places on the stairs. It wasn’t like anyone else was in the hallway, but it was still unnecessary. 

Hinata seemed to falter for a moment, looking away from him, to the side, and then down again. Tsukishima arched an eyebrow and then turned away to move down the stairs again, but that seemed to prompt Hinata to speak again. 

“Are you and Yamaguchi dating?” he blurted.

“Huh?” Tsukishima demanded, whipping around to face him. “No. Why would you-“

Then, there were slightly sweaty palms on both sides of his face pulling him forward and guiding him to Hinata’s. Hinata had pressed his lips against Tsukishima’s. It wasn’t so much a kiss as it was smashing their faces together and he was left trying to process just what was happening. Then, before he could react, the hands were slipping away and pushing him back just slightly. He looked at him with wide eyes and mouth slightly ajar.

What was the protocol for this kind of situation? He didn’t feel like sass was quite appropriate… then again, what was when your teammate just planted a kiss on your face out of nowhere?

“Ah!” Hinata seemed to be equally surprised with his actions. “S-sorry.” He pulled his hands away from Tsukishima and held them in the air for a moment. His entire face was pink and he was sweating. He made a few vague gestures, his mouth opening and closing multiple times. He couldn’t seem to find the words and his eyes darted back and forth between Tsukishima’s and some spot on the ceiling. Maybe he was hoping that Tsukishima would say something, respond and put a stop to his struggle.

Instead, Tsukishima was silent, watching Hinata’s hands fly in the air and open and close his mouth like a fish. He wanted to hear what the shorter male wanted to say… not that he was saying anything. 

“I-“ Hinata started for maybe the tenth time. “S-sorry,” he said again. “I didn’t mean. Well, I did mean… I hadn’t planned… You see…” Hinata's sentences jumped around just as much as he did on the volleyball court. Then, Hinata looked up and then peered curiously back at him. “I like you.” he finished lamely. 

Tsukishima’s face scrunched up and Hinata instinctively recoiled, probably afraid that he was going to be struck upside the head. 

“Huh?” Tsukishima responded, just as lamely as Hinata’s confession. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” Hinata rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t.” 

Tsukishima didn’t say anything. He hadn’t thought about this… whatever this situation was. He tried searching his brain for something to say in response, but came up empty.

“Alright!” Hinata’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Then, I’ll see you at practice!” You didn’t have to be very observant to notice that he was masking his words in false enthusiasm. Tsukishima winced to himself, the fake cheerfulness making him feel uneasy. It didn’t sit quite right with him. He thought perhaps he should say something, but before he could open his mouth, Hinata was off in the opposite direction.

* * *

That day at practice, Hinata didn’t look or speak to him at all. Occasionally, Tsukishima would look over, feeling the boy’s intense gaze, but Hinata was already begging Kageyama for another toss or asking Nishinoya about receives.

That practice felt uncomfortably quiet. 

* * *

“Do you think we look like we’re dating?” Tsukishima asked Yamaguchi as they walked back home that night. 

Yamaguchi’s eyebrows looked like they might disappear into his hairline. Tsukishima didn’t seem fazed by this and looked at him stoically waiting for an answer.

“M-maybe?” Yamaguchi stuttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He thought for a moment, “We do spend a lot time together. We walk to and from school together… I guess. Why?”

“Someone asked me today about it.”

“Really?” Yamaguchi seemed interested suddenly. “Who did? Was it a girl? Did you get confessed to?”

It was Tsukishima’s turn to raise a quizzical eyebrow. That was surprisingly on the nose. Well, except for the “girl” part. Then again, it wasn’t even like he had really discussed the matter of his sexuality with Yamaguchi. Not that he was afraid to, but more like he never saw the need. 

“Something like that,” he settled on. 

“What?” Yamaguchi was excited now. “Who confessed to you? Was it someone in our class? Lots of girls ask me about you.”

Tsukishima stayed silent while he contemplated what to tell him. 

“Tsukki,” he whined, looking at him desperately.

Looking back at him, he sighed, it wasn’t as if he could just leave him hanging.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t!” Yamaguchi looked way too excited.

“Today…” he trailed off thinking back to the feeling of Hinata’s clammy hands on his cheeks, “Hinata…” Yamaguchi looked like he was going to burst, “confessed to me.”

Yamaguchi stopped walking altogether as he continued walking. 

“Huh?”

That had been his reaction too.

Tsukishima didn’t say anything and continued walking so that Yamaguchi had to do a little jog to catch up to him. They walked in silence for a bit and Tsukishima found that his heart was beating a little faster than he thought it would. His nerves were annoying. He trusted Yamaguchi, which was why he was telling him in the first place, but it wasn’t like his silence was making him feel at ease. 

“Really?” He said at last. “That’s surprising.”

Tsukishima looked at him with his brow raised again. “What do you mean by that?”

“Not like that, not like that!” Yamaguchi laughed and waved his hand dismissively. “I just would have thought it would have been Kageyama. They certainly give off that aura.” Yamaguchi cleared his throat, “‘When you’re with me, you’re invincible!’”

He couldn’t help the snort that bubbled up. Yamaguchi wasn’t wrong about that.

“Though, now that you mention it, I really am surprised. I’ve never seen you two talk about something that didn’t end up in a fight.”

“…”

“… So, what did you say?”

“Nothing, really.”

“Nothing at all?” He sounded surprised.

“… Well,” he muttered, feeling suddenly self-conscious, “nothing yet.”

The corners of Yamaguchi’s mouth began curl up, “Now that’s the most surprising part!”

Tsukishima glared at him. 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki!”

* * *

Tsukishima twirled his mechanical pencil between his fingers as he read the same sentence of his literature textbook over for the fifth time. He’d been on the same page for half an hour now. As much as he tried to push it back, he couldn’t. 

He wanted to just leave it alone. As Hinata said, maybe it was better if he said nothing. Outside of his height and his excessive energy, he hadn’t really thought about the hot-blooded boy. Objectively, he noticed that he was attractive, but there was no reason to start thinking about anything else now. Nothing had changed because the shorter boy got over excited and pulled him in for an unsolicited kiss that he apologized for immediately after. 

Even knowing this, five minutes later, he hadn’t made any progress with his textbook. 

The tall blonde sighed and eyed his pencil as it spun between his fingers. Then the scenario was playing in his head again.

The way Hinata was sweating so nervously. 

Nervous gesticulations. 

Cheeks as red as strawberries.

Hinata’s eyes leveled with his own for the first time. Tsukishima wondered if Hinata subconsciously planned it that way. If he had waited for him to step down once so they could look each other in the eye.

… So, that Hinata could kiss him with ease. 

A foreign uneasiness starting from his stomach seemed to slither up and wrap around his chest. 

Annoyed at himself, he sighed. _What was with that kiss?_

His lips were chapped and rough. The kiss was inexperienced, their noses bumping each other just a bit before Hinata tilted his head quickly. He held his face too tightly, leaving him to feel the strange sensation of his nervous, damp, and volleyball calloused hands.

Not to mention the look on his face when he pulled away.

Thinking back to it, was he smiling? He remembered the shaky breath Hinata let out. It almost looked like the corners of his lips were turning up. No, definitely, the shrimp was smiling before he became aware of his own actions. He might’ve been more shocked by that kiss than he was. That smile had given away to nervousness. The pencil between Tsukishima’s fingers stopped spinning as he recalled how Hinata bit those chapped lips nervously and how a deep red climbed from his neck and up to the tips of his ears. 

_That idiot,_ he thought, _even the way he kisses is impulsive._

But the more that he thought about it the more that his heart raced. A heat boiled up from his neck to his cheeks to his ears. His face felt like it was fire. He brought his hand up to his face, covering his mouth feeling the warmth in his face. 

He was feeling embarrassed all by himself.

He groaned and ripped the glasses off his face, abandoning them on his desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

_What the hell? How uncool._

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Tsukishima came to the conclusion that he probably should have said something. 

Something other than “huh.” 

He could’ve done better than that and he couldn’t stop harping over what he should have done or said. 

He should have said _something._

Then, there was an even more annoying part to consider. What would he have said?

He glanced over to where the team was practicing receives a few feet away. Hinata was poised and ready as Sugawara got ready to set the ball on the opposite side of the court. 

It should be said that, if Yamaguichi asked, Tsukishima had definitely not been staring at Hinata more than usual. 

Sugawara set the ball and, on cue, Tanaka ran up and spiked the ball. Hinata scrambled to keep the ball from hitting the floor, but instead of the ball bumping off his forearms that were clearly too low, the ball crashed into his face. 

“Ah, Hinata!” Sugawara gasped. “Are you okay?”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “That’s like that fourth time this happened this week.”

“Hey!” Hinata glared at him. “You don’t have to rub it in!” 

“It’s kind of true though!” Yamaguchi chimed in, “It’s been happening a lot lately.”

“Honestly, you might be better with your face than your arms.” Tsukishima said it to be mean. He definitely did. 

… But Hinata just about froze where he stood, staring at him with red cheeks. For the first few seconds Tsukishima didn’t catch why he was so embarrassed and when it sunk in he had to force himself to look away.

He hadn’t even said lips. He specifically said face, yet they stood on the on the volleyball court absolutely mortified as their teammates went back to what they were doing. It was like he had mentioned an inside joke that backfired. It wasn’t until Nishinoya urged Hinata to practice his receives again that they were both put out of their misery. 

* * *

Three days later, Tsukishima took it back. He shouldn’t have said anything the day that Hinata had confessed to him. If he had answered him that day, he would have definitely rejected him.

Well, technically, he had rejected him anyway, but that was besides the point.

If Hinata had asked now, after he had thought it over a million times, the answer would probably be different. 

Probably.

* * *

Definitely. 

All this of this confession stuff was giving Tsukishima a headache. It just got worse when he started to entertain the idea that, well, maybe he liked Hinata back. 

There was really no need for that “maybe.” 

For the last few days, the short boy was all that he could think about. When he was in class, when he was doing his homework, and, the worst, when they were at practice. When they were at practice, Tsukishima could look at him all he wanted and even though Yamaguchi knew better than to say anything about it, he could feel his best friend looking at him and smiling. Of course, whenever Tsukishima sent a glance his way, the freckled boy suddenly found the ceiling or floor way more interesting.

“You know,” Yamaguchi said in a low voice as they took a water break, “if you didn’t say anything… it’s not like he’s going to try again.”

Tsukishima opened his mouth to say something back, but Yamaguchi’s words sunk in and he tried to digest them. He was right. He had basically rejected Hinata, it wasn’t realistic to think that his inactivity would result in anything. 

And that was what he wanted, right? … Something?

A relationship with Hinata? He grimaced at the idea… but it still sounded right. 

Yamaguchi snorted. 

“I’ve never seen you so confused, Tsukki!” He laughed and gave him a pat on his back before lowering his voice again, “Maybe you should walk him home today. I’ll go on ahead.” Then, Yamaguchi was running back on the court when Ennoshita waved him over. 

Tsukishima sighed to himself. When had Yamaguchi gotten so knowledgeable about these things?

* * *

As promised, after practice, Yamaguchi changed and disappeared. He didn’t even have a chance to say anything to him before he left. Instead, Tsukishima was left staring at his locker trying to get himself to figure out exactly what to say to the orange-haired boy a few feet away from him. Tsukishima took a quick glance behind him to see that Hinata had caught his head in his under shirt while pulling it on and was flailing about.

If he had less self-control he would have banged his head against his locker; of all people, this was the one he liked. A short boy who could neither pass all of his tests nor dress himself. 

Good going, Tsukishima. 

He finished getting dressed and waited outside for him, which might not have been a good idea because Hinata looked like he was going to jump out of his skin when he finally noticed him off to the side. The shorter boy gave him a quick look and then began to walk away and Tsukishima decided it was now or never.

“Hinata.” 

He froze and peered at him. “… Yeah?” 

Did he have to sound so nervous?

“Let me walk you home.”

Hinata looked at him suspiciously. “Why? I’m kind of getting a dangerous vibe from you right now…”

Tsukishima tensed, feeling just a little hurt. 

“Fine,” he mumbled, “whatever, you idiot. Walk yourself home. See you tomorrow.” He threw a dismissive hand in the air and began walking. If Hinata was going to be like that, then there was no point.

Or so he thought until Hinata grabbed his wrist. 

“No,” he said quickly and quietly. Under the harsh light of the street lamp, his cheeks were visibly pink. “Walk me home.”

Tsukishima’s stomach flipped and even after Hinata’s fingers slipped from his wrists, Tsukishima’s heart pounded viciously in his chest. That look on Hinata’s face ought be illegal or something. 

As they walked in silence, no part of him wanted to calm down. He was all nerves and as a result the walk to Hinata’s house felt painfully slow until Hinata brought up a topic of conversation.

“Did you know Shimizu-senpai used to play a sport?” he asked catching Tsukishima off guard.

“Uh… no.” 

“Well, she did something really cool and me and Yachi were like…” Hinata launched into his story about Shimizu’s athletic talent, his hands waving erratically in the air. Sound effects like “gwah” and “woosh” littered all of his sentences. 

Tsukishima was sure that this story could have been summed up much easier, but he didn’t mind listening to Hinata. He knew listening to him then, that he was too lost. If he even found Hinata’s rambling stories cute and attractive, he was in too deep. 

“So, we’ve asked her what she used to play, but she won’t tell us!” 

He responded with a half-hearted mumble and the other boy looked disappointed and then Tsukishima was scrambling for words, because he didn’t want the conversation to end just yet.

“You could ask Nishinoya or Tanaka,” he offered. “They’re obsessed with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if those creeps have a folder of her life story. Or the third years would probably know, they’re in the same year after all.”

“Oh! That’s so smart!” Hinata marveled.

“Don’t come crying to me if you do something idiotic and she finds out and get mad, though,” Tsukishima added in unable to leave it at that. “There’s probably a reason she doesn’t want you to know, so don’t be a nosy brat.”

“Don’t put it like that, we’re just curious!” Hinata huffed as they came to a stop in front of his house. The sour look on his face morphed into something softer and hesitant. “This is mine.”

“Oh…” They had made it from school to Hinata’s house and nothing of what he wanted to say to him had left his mouth. Tsukishima almost told him goodbye and walked away. He would’ve decided that it was not the day to tell him that he reciprocated his feelings. 

“Tsukishima, why did you ask to walk me home?”

That option flew out the window.

He had no clue how to say it smoothly, but he started anyway, “About your confession-”

“Ah! No!” Hinata interrupted him urgently. “You really don’t need to say anything about it!” 

One of Tsukishima’s eyes twitched. After all his mental preparation and that was what he was met with.

“You have no idea what I’m going to say, dumbass!”

“I do!” Hinata answered firmly, even though it looked like his body wanted to fold up into itself. The frown on his face was almost too much for Tsukishima to look at. “I know what you’re going to say and that’s why you walked me home and you’ve been a little nicer lately.” For the record, Tsukishima thought he was acting normally and that was just Hinata’s imagination. “I don’t need to hear a rejection, I already know, so… just don’t say it. Please. Okay? Good night!” 

He spun on his heel, ready to leave, but Tsukishima wasn’t going to let him get away this time. He grabbed him by the back of his collar, hooking his fingers into his white shirt so that Hinata couldn’t slip out of his jacket. 

“Did you hear me?” he snapped. “You have no idea what I’m going to say. Don’t just say stuff and then take off!” 

Hinata still struggled against his grip on his clothing.

“But I do! You kind of hate me and you’re probably not even gay or bi or whatever. I already know!” Hinata’s voice cracked and Tsukishima let go him. Hinata staggered a few steps away and then turned around to face him. Looking at the tortured expression the boy had on his face, Tsukishima cracked, unable to prolong his response anymore.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Still…”

“And if I was ‘gay or bi or whatever?’” Tsukishima inquired. He did his best not to sound like he was mocking him, but he was pretty sure that he failed. 

“What?” Hinata asked, stilling under his gaze. Tsukishima stared back at him. Outside of asking whether or not he was dating Yamaguchi, had he really not considered that wasn’t straight after planting that hazardous kiss on him? That confession really must’ve been impulsive. 

“If I wasn’t straight, would you still not want to hear my answer?”

“… I-I dunno.” Hinata wouldn’t meet his eyes anymore. Instead, he trained his gaze to floor, his eyes wide and cheeks red. Tsukishima could practically see the gears turning inside the poor kid’s head, he should really put him out of his misery.

He took a step forward. “What if my answer was that I liked you too?”

Hinata’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “W-what?” he sputtered. “Don’t joke!”

“If you could stop assuming the worst, this would be a lot easier.”

“You waited so long after I confessed though! What was I suppose to think?!” 

He got him there. 

Tsukishima mumbled something under his breath that even he knew was totally incoherent.

“What?” 

To this day, Tsukishima swears that Hinata’s impulsiveness was contagious because, before he could stop himself, he leaned down and pressed he lips lightly to his. It was quick and awkward and he was feeling self conscious about it until he pulled away and saw the look on Hinata’s face. 

“O-oh,” he stammered.

Finally, he got it. 

Tsukishima kissed him again and this time he reciprocated. When Hinata placed his hands on the back of his neck and pulled him close, Tsukishima didn’t even mind the awkward way he had to hunch over. 

This kiss was better than the first and the second. Hinata had licked his lips and this time they were soft against his. Hinata’s rough hands moved from the back of his neck and into his hair. They pulled away breathing a little too hard.

A laughter bubbled up in Hinata and it was infectious, Tsukishima was unable to keep a straight face and grinned right back at him.

“You know, I think I’m going to develop back problems going all the way down there.”

“Oi!” Hinata protested. 

“I’m just saying,” Tsukishima laughed, “I know you can’t bring a staircase with you everywhere, but it’s far trip.”

“You’re ruining the moment,” Hinata grumbled and then, “I didn’t plan to kiss you on the staircase you know! It just worked out that way. You don’t need to make fun of it.”

“I liked it,” he said honestly Hinata turned red. “I’m not going to stop teasing you though. “

“I know.” That caught Tsukishima completely off guard. “It’s part of the reason that I like you.” Now, it was his turn to flush red.

“W-what,” he started, attempting to deflect, “you like-”

“Stop ruining the moment, Stingyshima!” Hinata’s hands grabbed the collar of Tsukishima’s shirt and dragged him down for another quick kiss. Pulling away, he had another large grin on his face. 

For once, Tsukishima didn’t need a retort. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Tsukishima,” he said with a bit of finality, in case Tsukishima wanted to add something snarky.

Tsukishima nodded, “Good night, Hinata.”

When Hinata entered his house, Tsukishima put on his headphones and stuffed his hands in his pockets before beginning his walk home. He couldn’t help but smile to himself. 

He was going to need to thank Yamaguchi.

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I thought: You know what's awkward? High school. You know what's even more awkward? Having crushes in high school.
> 
> Anyways, I love this pairing, but it seems kind of rare. So, of course, I had to go and write a fic about it. Come talk to me about tsukihina on [tumblr](http://www.tsukkishina.tumblr.com)? Or follow me on my main blog: [tumblr](http://www.ayebibs.tumblr.com)?
> 
> (Also, this fic is not beta'd and it's been about six years since I've written fanfiction. Apologies in advance for the mistakes and weirdness. #howdoyouwritevolleyballboysincharacer?)


End file.
